If worker co-ops obtain such great outcomes, why aren’t they the dominant way of doing business? Many factors explain their scarcity, from difficulty attracting capital to the simple fact that few know what a worker co-op is. As a result, these businesses control tiny fractions of the market.

Can the economy be democratized? How can we transform it into a more socially inclusive and ecologically sustainable system? How can we combat the growing concentrations of power and wealth? What current practices point toward a participatory democracy and resilient next system?

“We’re not fighting for ourselves, but for a better quality of life for our kids and their children. They won’t be screwed over or trampled upon by these kinds of people any more,” said Juan Luis Gaytán, 37, a mechanic at the plant, which is operated by Arca Continental, the world’s second-biggest Coca-Cola bottler.

Workers dressed in khaki uniforms brandished colourful homemade signs reading “We continue the struggle” and “20-32” – a reference to the strikers’ demand of a 20% pay hike and a one-off 32,000-peso bonus.

Rebecca Dunn: Cooperative Fund of New England—CFNE—was started in 1975 with money from the Haymarket People’s Fund and money George Pillsbury gathered from friends and family, about $25,000. Those funds seeded CFNE, and the first borrower was Buffalo Mountain Food Co-op in Vermont.

ESOPs and employee-owned cooperatives share many similarities as well as differences, and each model can provide a distinct set of features for a business and their employees. Some businesses have found that each model has not been “enough”, and have taken parts of each to create something new – the “ESOP-operative”.

Think Outside the Boss provides community members an introduction into the nuts and bolts of starting and running a cooperatively owned business. We go over legal issues in an accessible way to help you understand the relationships between cooperatives, employment, and community wealth-building.